Cape Horn

noun

a headland on a small island at the S extremity of South America: belongs to Chile.

Horn

[hawrn]

noun

Cape. Cape Horn.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for cape horn

Horn

noun

Cape See Cape Horn

Cape Horn

noun

a rocky headland on an island at the extreme S tip of South America, belonging to Chile. It is notorious for gales and heavy seas; until the building of the Panama Canal it lay on the only sea route between the Atlantic and the PacificAlso called: the Horn

horn

noun

either of a pair of permanent outgrowths on the heads of cattle, antelopes, sheep, etc, consisting of a central bony core covered with layers of keratinRelated adjectives: corneous, keratoid

the outgrowth from the nasal bone of a rhinoceros, consisting of a mass of fused hairs

any hornlike projection or process, such as the eyestalk of a snail

the antler of a deer

the constituent substance, mainly keratin, of horns, hooves, etc
(in combination)horn-rimmed spectacles

a container or device made from this substance or an artificial substitutea shoe horn; a drinking horn

an object or part resembling a horn in shape, such as the points at either end of a crescent, the point of an anvil, the pommel of a saddle, or a cornucopia

a primitive musical wind instrument made from the horn of an animal

any musical instrument consisting of a pipe or tube of brass fitted with a mouthpiece, with or without valvesSee hunting horn, French horn, cor anglais

jazz slang any wind instrument

a device for producing a warning or signalling noise
(in combination)a foghorn

(usually plural) the hornlike projection attributed to certain devils, deities, etc

(usually plural) the imaginary hornlike parts formerly supposed to appear on the forehead of a cuckold

Also called: horn balance an extension of an aircraft control surface that projects in front of the hinge providing aerodynamic assistance in moving the control

Also called: acoustic horn, exponential horna hollow conical device coupled to the diaphragm of a gramophone to control the direction and quality of the sound
any such device used to spread or focus sound, such as the device attached to an electrical loudspeaker in a public address system
Also called: horn antennaa microwave aerial, formed by flaring out the end of a waveguide

geology another name for pyramidal peak

a stretch of land or water shaped like a horn

British slang an erection of the penis

Bible a symbol of power, victory, or successin my name shall his horn be exalted

blow one's horn US and Canadian to boast about oneself; bragBrit equivalent: blow one's own trumpet

draw in one's horns or pull in one's horns

to suppress or control one's feelings, esp of anger, enthusiasm, or passion
to withdraw a previous statement
to economize

on the horns of a dilemma

in a situation involving a choice between two equally unpalatable alternatives
in an awkward situation

verb (tr)

to provide with a horn or horns

to gore or butt with a horn

Word Origin for horn

Old English; related to Old Norse horn, Gothic haurn, Latin cornu horn

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for cape horn

horn

Old English horn "horn of an animal," also "wind instrument" (originally made from animal horns), from Proto-Germanic *hurnaz (cf. German Horn, Dutch horen, Gothic haurn), from PIE *ker- "horn; head, uppermost part of the body," with derivatives refering to horned animals, horn-shaped objects and projecting parts (cf. Greek karnon "horn," Latin cornu "horn," Sanskrit srngam "horn," Persian sar "head," Avestan sarah- "head," Greek koryphe "head," Latin cervus "deer," Welsh carw "deer"). Reference to car horns is first recorded 1901. Figurative senses of Latin cornu included "salient point, chief argument; wing, flank; power, courage, strength." Jazz slang sense of "trumpet" is by 1921. Meaning "telephone" is by 1945.

horn

1690s, "to furnish with horns," from horn (n.). Earlier in figurative sense of "to cuckold" (1540s). Meaning "to push with the horns" (of cattle, buffalo, etc.) is from 1851, American English; phrase horn in "intrude" is by 1880, American English, originally cowboy slang.

cape horn in Medicine

horn

[hôrn]

n.

One of the hard, usually permanent structures projecting from the head of certain mammals, such as cattle, consisting of a bony core covered with a sheath of keratinous material.

A hard protuberance that is similar to or suggestive of a horn.

The hard, smooth keratinous material forming the outer covering of animal horns.

Any of the major subdivisions of the lateral ventricle in the cerebral hemisphere of the brain: the frontal horn, occipital horn, and temporal horn.cornu

cape horn in Science

horn

[hôrn]

Either of the bony growths projecting from the upper part of the head of certain hoofed mammals, such as cattle, sheep, and goats. The horns of these animals are never shed, and they consist of bone covered by keratin.

A hard growth that looks like a horn, such as an antler or a growth on the head of a giraffe or rhinoceros. Unlike true horns, antlers are shed yearly and have a velvety covering, and the horns of a rhinoceros are made not of bone but of hairy skin fused with keratin.

The hard durable substance that forms the outer covering of true horns. It consists of keratin.

Idioms and Phrases with cape horn

horn

In addition to the idioms beginning with horn

horn in on
horns of a dilemma, on the

also see:

blow one's own horn
lock horns
pull in one's horns
take the bull by the horns